Now, I am there: in that ‘60s Vegas hotel showroom, the incense of piped tobacco smoke filling privileged lungs. The audience chatters, and a hundred champagne glasses glitter in the stage- lights. A power-suit adjusts his bowtie, and beside him his scantily-clad mistress fingers her loose-fitting jewellery. Nearby, a man of fewer years checks again his trouser pocket for the engagement-ring case. Drooping ever gradually, the dull-red rose in the vase on his table looks back at him. A black waiter almost trips on the felt floor, his suede shoes squeaking in time with the trumpets. A teenager hides her giggles, while her piercing eyes survey the crowded room for her parents’ friends. Bouncers at the periphery and at every entrance exchange unreadable glances. Exotic cars speed by outside, and the evening rain is momentarily illuminated by their discerning headlights. Beads of sweat from the bassist’s forehead drip onto his rented tuxedo. Frank himself grins right at a young girl in the front row of tables, and her sisters grimace with envy.The orchestra conductor glances at his wristwatch and the bespectacled drummer notices him beat time just that bit faster. I am waiting for the final note. ‘... and saw it through, without exemption ...’ As a child, I would always take care to listen to the very last note of any piece of music.The final note provides what no other musical note can: the sense of an ending. Unless, of course, the cadence is imperfect, interrupted or otherwise incomplete – I do hope Sinatra will not disappoint. In this particular case, I believe, the final note will be a D natural. As I sit, the billowing breezes caress my vacant cheeks. My breath whitens and rises in the night air before me. Floating nonchalantly, it wanders off, never to return. Blackness engulfs my huddled body, but I welcome its advances. It has entranced my gaze; I peer deep in, looking for nothing at all. I observe far below me the egregious honking of a perturbed motorist. From up here, all of humanity appears to be little toy soldiers. The
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